Sometimes even Supreme Court justices admit they’ve goofed.
Justice Anthony Kennedy mistakenly blocked the start of same-sex marriage in Nevada Wednesday in an order he later corrected, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg confirmed Thursday to the Associated Press.
Kennedy initially issued a surprise emergency stay putting gay marriages on hold in Idaho and Nevada. Hours later he clarified his order to exclude Nevada from the stay, giving no explanation for the change.
Only Idaho asked the high court for the stay.
The order caused confusion in both states, as it came just minutes before same-sex couples who had lined at county buildings were expecting to receive marriage licenses. One gay couple in a Idaho received a marriage license before county employees got word of the stay, the AP said.
Kennedy’s order affects only Idaho and not the other states affected by the Supreme Court’s decision Monday to reject appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions. Monday’s order effectively made gay marriage legal in 30 states.
